Sports
Serge Ibaka's departure a heavy blow to Raptors' championship aspirations – Sportsnet.ca
For now the details are few and the circumstances not completely understood, but on the same day the Toronto Raptors were able to retain their free-agent point guard, they lost their most viable big man.
The enthusiasm that greeted news Saturday morning that Fred VanVleet had re-signed with Toronto was tempered when Serge Ibaka signed with the Los Angeles Clippers for a two-year deal worth a reported $19 million late on Saturday night.
The move — which was unexpected — leaves the Raptors without another member of their championship core, one of the most colourful players in franchise history, and for the moment without a viable centre under contract.
“We’ll be okay,” was Raptors president Masai Ujiri’s text message shortly after the deal was reported.
Ujiri and Raptors general manager Bobby Webster deserve more than the benefit of the doubt at this stage, given they have seven straight playoff appearances to their credit not to mention the 2019 title. But it’s hard to spin the notion of Ibaka leaving as anything other than a heavy blow to a team hoping to compete for championships.
For the moment Ibaka’s combination of floor-spreading shooting and defensive ability seems difficult to replace.
Given that the Raptors’ other incumbent centre, Marc Gasol, is a free agent garnering his share of interest elsewhere and the only other bigs on the roster are an under-sized Chris Boucher — who has never played steady NBA minutes — and second-year Dewan Hernandez, a long-term project at best, Ujiri’s definition of ‘okay’ might be relative.
What’s not hard to argue is that by the time Ibaka was ready to leave he was on his way to becoming a folk hero in Toronto.
The slick-shooting centre with the chiselled frame and cheekbones to match had morphed from distant and taciturn early in his tour with a pair of weak playoff performances to his name to loose and free and one of the Raptors’ most important playoff heroes. His last games for Toronto were some of his very best.
He played here parts of four seasons after arriving from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline in 2017 and seemed to improve in subtle and not-so-subtle ways each year — no small feat for someone with that many professional miles on their tires.
Last year was his 11th season and might have been his best — he averaged 20 points and 11 rebounds a game on a per/36-minute basis, both career highs — and shot 39 per cent from three on nearly five attempts per game.
He was better as a starter — shooting 43.7 per cent from three in 27 games in that role — and was even better in the playoffs where he shot 57 per cent from the floor, 51.1 per cent from deep and was one of the Raptors’ few reliable options as Toronto’s offence ground to a halt in the second round against Boston.
But so complete was Ibaka’s transformation as a Raptor that it was his off-the-floor presence that so many fans were mourning when news broke that he was reuniting with Fun Guy Kawhi Leonard — ‘What it do baby’ — to take a run at another ring with the Los Angeles Clippers.
There was his must-see How Hungry Are You cooking shows where he served guests some truly disturbing dishes, including beef penis pizza, memorably, to Leonard. No hard feelings, apparently.
There was How Bored Are You, when he lit up the dark days of quarantine for so many from his own locked-down life — albeit from a much nicer apartment than most. And there was Avec Classe — the YouTube series where the fashion-forward Ibaka invited teammates for a makeover, with occasionally hilarious results and viral arguments about scarves.
As a Raptor he became a person and player in full, it seemed.
“… He’s more confident,” Kyle Lowry observed when I interviewed him after he attended a documentary Ibaka produced about his improbable journey from the streets of Brazzaville, Congo, to the Raptors championship parade. “You win a championship and things like that happen. You’re able to go out into other avenues. I think winning a championship gave him a bigger stage to promote his continent, his people, and he’s doing that even more now.”
In that context a tour through Los Angeles will suit Ibaka well — he’s got a lot to offer on and off the floor. If he can help lead the Clippers to their first-ever title, his platform will only grow.
But the Raptors problem is what he leaves behind. If not Ibaka or Gasol — or even if Gasol returns, given how much the Spanish veteran struggled in 2019-20 — then who? Then what?
There are options available and the Raptors can offer the full mid-level ($9.3 million for one year or potentially $39 million over four) if they must.
Could Aron Baynes, the bruising Suns centre who has recently developed a passable three-point shot be enticed for one year of the mid-level ($9.3 million) — that might be optimistic. Former Raptor Bismack Biyombo would probably be cheaper and would fill a hole defensively even if the offensively challenged big man might create one on the other end. Hassan Whiteside can block shots and rebound with the best of them, but seems to create drama at every stop. He’s as big as big bodies get.
Perhaps the Raptors’ best options might be more small lineups, with either Pascal Siakam and/or OG Anunoby logging more minutes as the theoretical centre in five-out sets that are becoming more and more common. There were some promising signs of that during the playoffs.
The Raptors — Ujiri, Webster and head coach Nick Nurse — generally figure things out.
That’s the reassuring part. But for the moment losing Ibaka seems like the opposite of okay, and how he performed on the floor was only half of it.
Sports
2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs 1st-round schedule – NHL.com
New York Rangers (1M) vs. Washington Capitals (WC2)
Game 1: Capitals at Rangers — Sunday, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN, SN, TVAS, MSG, MNMT)
Game 2: Capitals at Rangers — April 23, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNW)
Game 3: Rangers at Capitals — April 26, 7 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS)
Game 4: Rangers at Capitals — April 28, 8 p.m. ET (TBS, truTV, MAX, SN360, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP)
Game 5: Capitals at Rangers — May 1, TBD
Game 6: Rangers at Capitals — May 3, TBD
Game 7: Capitals at Rangers — May 5, TBD
Complete Rangers-Capitals series coverage
Sports
The Bruins' strengths + vulnerabilities, and the path to a series victory for the Maple Leafs – MLHS Playoff Podcast – Maple Leafs Hot Stove
Founded in 2008, Maple Leafs Hotstove (MLHS) has grown to be the most visited independent team-focused hockey website online (Quantcast).
Independently owned and operated, MLHS provides thorough and wide-ranging content, varying from news, opinion and analysis, to pre-game and long-form game reviews, and a weekly feature piece entitled “Leafs Notebook.”
MLHS has been cited by: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBC News, USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, TSN, Sportsnet, Grantland, CTV News, CBSSports, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Global News, Huffington Post, and many more.
Sports
Start time set for Game 1 in Maple Leafs-Bruins playoff series – Toronto Sun
Article content
Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be tuning in a little bit later than usual on Saturday night to see the puck drop for Hockey Night in Canada.
Article content
The NHL announced the start times on Thursday for the Eastern Conference playoff matches and the Leafs and Bruins will faceoff at 8 p.m. ET in Boston on Saturday, a bit later than the usual 7 p.m. puck drop for Toronto.
Article content
The game will be broadcast on CBC and Sportsnet in Canada.
Article content
Saturday’s other game will be the New York Islanders taking on the Carolina Hurricanes at 5 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
The other Eastern Conference playoff matchups will start Sunday, with the Battle of Florida between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning going at 12:30 p.m. and the New York Rangers playing Washington Capitals at 3 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
With several Western Conference teams wrapping up their regular-season slates on Thursday, the remainder of the playoff schedule is yet to set.
Recommended from Editorial
The Maple Leafs also announced Thursday that the tailgate at Maple Leaf Square will open its gates at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Fans must register for a free mobile pass to be admitted to tailgates with passes available only on the Toronto Maple Leafs app and are non-transferable. Passes are available at 1 p.m. ET the day before each confirmed game with each fan permitted up to two passes per game.
Ahead of puck-drop, fans in the Square will be able to enjoy giveaways, special guests, a live DJ and more.
Share this article in your social network
-
Investment16 hours ago
UK Mulls New Curbs on Outbound Investment Over Security Risks – BNN Bloomberg
-
Sports14 hours ago
Auston Matthews denied 70th goal as depleted Leafs lose last regular-season game – Toronto Sun
-
Business13 hours ago
BC short-term rental rules take effect May 1 – CityNews Vancouver
-
Art13 hours ago
Collection of First Nations art stolen from Gordon Head home – Times Colonist
-
Tech16 hours ago
Save $700 Off This 4K Projector at Amazon While You Still Can – CNET
-
Investment13 hours ago
Benjamin Bergen: Why would anyone invest in Canada now? – National Post
-
Tech15 hours ago
'Kingdom Come: Deliverance II' Revealed In Epic New Trailer And It Looks Incredible – Forbes
-
Science16 hours ago
Jeremy Hansen – The Canadian Encyclopedia